Customer Reviews

The Art of Bop Drumming (Book & CD) (Manhattan Music Publications)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've had this book for about a month now and am reaping increasing benefits from it. I've been playing jazz for 20+ years, and have studied various books during that period, so I wasn't sure what Mr. Riley's book would bring to the table. I was not disappointed.

The beauty of this book is that there is something here for players of every skill level. The explanantions are clear and lucid, the play-alongs are superb, and the subtle insights are priceless (great photos and quotes from the masters too). Well done....and highly recommended. (I'd also recommend Kim Plainfield's "Advanced Concepts", to tighten up your funk, fusion, and Latin chops. If you spend a year seriously studying each of these books your musicianship and chops will thank you.

Have fun...and keep swingin' !!!

I have progressed very quickly by using this book alone! It has been laid out in such a way as to start from the very basics of a simple swing beat and then takes the reader up to the very complex syncopated rhythms. The most important thing to note regarding the book is that it is laid out to advance the student at a VERY quick pace. And since it comes with an audio CD you can 'hear' what is written on the page. There is also five songs that do not have a drum track so the student can play along. For [money] I have at LEAST one year of drum lessons!!! The author not only explains WHAT to play but WHY and also WHEN. The book teaches you not only how to be a good drummer, but also, how to be a good musician. A perfect drum book!!!

This book is absolutely excellent. Covers all aspects of jazz drumming: interdepence, timekeeping, drumset orchestration and soloing. The accompanying CD is very good, and contains several excellent play-along tunes (with and without drums).

This book is awesome for the beginner. I started with the first comping ideas and found myself progressing faster than all of the years of trying to play jazz. To play jazz, one must understand its theory, and this book brings it. If you are interested in drums, and jazz drums, you gotta get this book and learn how to comp! In the CD, the author plays all the ideas in the book, which helps you to learn how to read and how each exercise should sound. Shish, Boom, Bang. Amazing!!

This rather thin-in-size book packs a tremendous amount of practical instruction. It is intended as a thorough course in bop drumming for serious students, and will realistically take many months simply to work through at a basic level (and, as with any high-level skill, many years to actually master). It is suitable for beginning drummers who at least know the rudiments and basic technique (and who have familiarity with jazz in general), but would also be appropriate for experienced drummers wanting to learn the specifics of bop drumming. The book begins with basic time-keeping on the ride cymbal and progresses through comping and tailoring accompaniments. There is a detailed section on brushwork. While the focus naturally is on rhythm, there are also many useful pointers on tone, dynamics, composition and such. The accompanying CD is well put together and, in addition to including examples, also includes "music minus one" type tracks to play along with. The writing style is lucid and the explanations are clear. The author understands that playing drums is a lot of fun, and he seems to aim to provide a highly disciplined approach that manages to avoid taking the fun out of things -- no mean feat. This book is the next best thing to actual lessons with a great teacher.

The best intro book for jazz drumming. John Riley introduces the style, complete with information on cymbals, tuning and equipment.

Regardless of experience, you will quickly pick up the skills to go as far as you want as a bop drummer. Independence, comping, brushes, solos, charts...it's all here and presented clearly. The attached cd is good to help you hear what the lessons sound like and to provide several tunes minus drums to play along with.

the first time I tried the "warm up" exerises in this book I couldn't believe how stupid I sounded-I literally threw my sticks on the floor and closed this thing for at least a year telling myself "I will never be able to play like that".....but I never forgot about the thing either..a month ago I said I have to try again-well
long story short I preservere and found that with effort (harder than ever worked before) I could at last do the warm up.(took three weeks) you all know what I found? the warm ups are very hard but the comp material(next section) is much easier and s**T loads of fun!!! and super cool to play--dudes it will make you sound years more cultured than you are! (I usually play metal). I went to a music store with a bunch of loud ass kids bangin around and started playn this stuff and when I finished...everyone was quiet and dads were smilin and kids were lookin-that has never happened to me hahahaha very funny-but please read--- to unlock the rest of the book YOU HAVE TO GET PAST THE VERY HARD WARM UP EXERCISES!!! thanks mr riley for your great contribution to my playing!

Like Jazz? Don't like Jazz? It doesn't matter. Whether you like to swing or not, this book WILL make you a better drummer and musician. The triplet feel is almost its own dimension in drumming and every drummer should master it. Although it is targeted for bebop jazz (basically faster swing feel as far as a drummer is concerned), this book will give you plenty of exercises and ideas you can incorporate in any genre. The exercises are great for independence and time-keeping, and offer very, very good fill and solo ideas.

As for aspiring jazz drummers, there is absolutely no question, GET this book. Any jazz professor at the university level would approve and it is used widely in music schools such as Berklee and Indiana University Music School (I graduated from IU).

The lessons on brushes are crucial and if you have never placed your hand on a brush, here is where you should start looking.

The accompanying CD is great as well and helps you to master a good swing time, listen to exercises being played, listen to compositions and play along tunes with a bassist or with a whole rhythm section.

The best educational book on jazz. Covers ride cymbal, comping, solo ideas, uptempo, brushes and has a good play along cd. All of the written words do a fantastic job of putting things in context. Mr. Riley clearly knows his stuff. "Beyond Bop Drumming" is also a great book for more advanced jazz playing.

This book is fantastic sorce material for any intermediate drummer looking to begin exploring jazz. For experienced players the content can be quite challenging and the advice is imminently valuable. Really a spectacular educational resource.